Alana Vandagriff | 

What Not to Buy at Aldi (Because It's Cheaper Elsewhere)

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Figuring out what not to buy at Aldi can be challenging since Aldi is so cheap to begin with, but you may be surprised to learn that Aldi isn’t the price winner for every product. Even though Aldi doesn’t accept coupons, their high-quality house brand “knockoffs” keep my kitchen well stocked in between their promotions — sometimes at half the cost of brand names!

It’s easy to love Aldi’s return policy and their easy grocery pickup, but don’t fall into the trap of doing 100% of your grocery shopping at Aldi. We dug around and found what not to buy at Aldi — and where to buy the items instead. To keep this grocery battle fair, we compared the competitor’s price without any coupons or promotions (since Aldi doesn’t accept product coupons).

Remember to download the official The Krazy Coupon Lady app and bookmark our favorite Aldi deals.

 

1. Don’t buy flour at Aldi.

Flour at Aldi

Walmart sells 10-pound bags of flour, and my local Aldi only sells 5-pound bags. Since there’s no option to buy in bulk at Aldi, you can get flour cheaper elsewhere — like at Walmart. Check it out:

 

2. Skip the animal crackers at Aldi.

Animal crackers at Aldi

My kids go through snacks like they’re free. Getting the best price on all snacks is a necessity. While Aldi does win on a lot of snack prices, animal crackers aren’t it.

 

3. Don’t fall for name-brand cereal at Aldi.

Cinnamon toast crunch cereal at Aldi

There aren’t many name-brand items you’ll find on the shelves at Aldi, except for cereal. If you do stumble across a bag of your favorite magically delicious cereal, skip buying it at Aldi. Even when it’s not on sale at the grocery stores, Aldi is more expensive for name-brand cereal.

Related: While we recommend skipping the name-brand cereals, we found that Aldi has the best prices around for dye-free foods — including Aldi’s dye-free cereal brands!

 

4. Forget those toothbrushes at Aldi.

You can save about 65% per toothbrush when you buy them in bulk on Amazon instead of picking them up at Aldi. I found this generic set of 25 toothbrushes on Amazon for $12.49. Don’t need that many? You can still get a smaller pack of Oral-B toothbrushes for cheaper at Walmart.

 

 

5. Don’t buy disposable razors at Aldi.

In the couponing world, it’s no surprise that you can get razors for cheap. But I promised you we’d compare these prices without any coupons. If you’re not worried about the blade count, you can get an absolute steal on twin blade razors on Amazon.

 

6. Cotton swabs aren’t the cheapest at Aldi.

Many hygiene products are usually more expensive at Aldi, including cotton swabs — aka Q-Tips. The price isn’t a huge difference, but in a time when everything costs more, every penny counts.

 

Other Products You Shouldn’t Buy at Aldi

There are a few products that Aldi sells for cheap, but these items fall under the “cheaper isn’t always better” category:

  • Berries
  • Diapers
  • Toilet paper
  • Soda

Related: Now for the flip side — here are the best Aldi products you can buy, according to fans.

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